Friday, December 21, 2007

Friday Florida Food Fest: Brainless Cooking ...KISS


It was a hectic week here in Pure Florida between basketball games, Christmas shopping, and exams.
There was very little preplanning of the weekly menu and the result was getting off work and having this kind of conversation,
"What do you want for supper?"
"I don't know, what do you want?"
(shuffle, repeat)
Tuesday night, hoping to avoid eating restaurant food yet again, I grabbed a pack of split chicken breasts while we were Christmas shopping and tossed them in the oven on a broiler rack with just some salt and pepper as soon as we got home.
When they were almost done, I brushed on some bottled Greek Salad dressing (no, I would never use it to make a Greek salad, I bought it for this purpose).
Then I let it broil on low and away from the heat for just long enough to crust the dressing on the chicken.
We made a big salad (homemade dressing on that!!) to accompany it and the combo was delicious.
The next night, it was just me for supper so I grabbed the one leftover chicken breast and tossed slivers of it onto a tortilla with some lettuce, Greek peppers, and a sprinkle of Romano shreds (no feta in the fridge).
Okay, and maybe I added just a drizzle of that store bought Greek dressing ... but just a drizzle.
Turns out there was some leftover black beans in the fridge, so I put them to work also. With the addition of a freshly peeled Satsuma, my plate of boring leftovers was complete.
It was deliciously subtropical.
Today is the final day of semester exams and school will be out for a few weeks to celebrate the season. Hopefully that means I will have some time to get out into the wilds and find something tres Floridian to share avec vous.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooh, new picture atop Pure Florida - nice!

Seriously, I'm glad you clarified "brainless" as applied to cooking. My mama grew up on a farm and to this day I shudder at some of things she ate as a child.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to 'de-lurk' for a change and tell you I wish I had your cooking talents of making a scrumptious meal out of what most people would consider 'nothing'. I am doomed to frozen pizzas and sandwiches in moments of overload.

Love the new header photo. My winter break starts today - yoo hoo. The college ended last week but the county system starts today so my counseling is on break also.

I'm looking forward to your upcoming photo shoots! ;)

The Bipolar Diaries

threecollie said...

Ooooh, pretty header...although I liked the old one too. Congratulations on your dinner and your time off from school. We only get our boy home for a week, but Beck is home for a month and Liz until March. YAY!

Anonymous said...

Seems we're both in the mood for new headers! I like yours, it "fits" PF very well.
I broil chicken from time to time, but thanks for that suggestion. I've never thought of the greek dressing added at the last minute. it sounds delicious, I'll definitely give that a try!

Laura, VSea

robin andrea said...

Nice new header. Very pretty. Although I will miss the boys!

Yummy sounding dinners, fc. You always inspire me.

Anonymous said...

It makes me crazy when you write French- sounds so faux and not the least bit FC. As always, your food posts make me hungry. Right now, I'm still not chewing hard which is very unsatisfactory but improving. I refuse to eat the Christmas Roast Beast blenderized so, 3 days and counting.

A great day for you- happy semester break! Well earned, well deserved.
Robin is a great name for that lizard.

h said...

You could take some "WINTER" pics for Mute Monday. Or visit Weeki-Wachee before it becomes a State Park or County Park or whatever the heck it's going to become.

Love that place!

R.Powers said...

Wren,
Thanks.
I still shudder when I think of a can I saw in Winn Dixie one day, "Pig Brains In Milk Sauce".
Who ...?


Danielle,
Enjoy your winter break! Time to decompress a little.


3C,
Just a week?
Seems kinda short,doesn't it?

Laura,
Any header with Buddy in it is a good one!

Robin,
Thanks! I need to fiddle with that header so it will fit correctly.

Vicki,
Two years of high school French long ago pop up every once in a while.
I'd speak it better if I had taken that tourist woman's advice and gotten a long haired dictionary.

Artful,
I actually have two WW mermaid sister n laws.
Pretty cool.

Doug Taron said...

I often start with split chicken breasts for meals on nights when I need to get something on the table quickly and I'm feeling uninspired. A recent example: chicken breasts simmered in tomatillo salsa and finished off with leftover mole gravy.

Happy holiday from the wilds of Massachusetts.

Anonymous said...

Someone shared a link to your blog with me and I'm so glad they did. You and I are on opposite ends of the continent, so I'm looking forward to exploring your segment of the country via your blog. I'm already impressed with your photography! Enjoy the break!

R.Powers said...

Doug,
That sounds pretty excellent. Merry Christmas to you also from the Florida Frontier.

Kimberlee,
Welcome to Pure Florida!
Thank you for the kind words.